Democratic Congressman John Delaney pitched himself to Iowans Friday as a unifier focused on healing the divisions of the American people.

"I believe the central question facing this country, more than any particular piece of policy, is: How do we take this terribly fractured nation, where American has been pitted against American, where people highlight our divisions for their own short-term political gain — how do we take this country, bring it back together, take back our democracy and start doing real things for the American people?" he said to a crowd of about 50 people at the Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.

Delaney, Maryland's 6th Congressional District representative since 2013, was the first presidential candidate of the 2020 election cycle to take Soapbox stage.

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Wearing a belt festooned with American flags, Delaney said that Democrats, Republicans and independents are all looking for the same basic things from their federal government.

"They want us to get real things done that make a difference in their lives," he said. "They want us to do things to improve the economy, give them more jobs, improve their pay, improve their health care, make the education for their kids better and do things to create opportunities for their children."

"I think if I was running for president this November, based on the mood of the country right now, I think that would be a bigger issue," he said. "But I think after this midterm, when Democrats focus on winning, because that’s going to be their primary focus, they’re going to realize I’m laying out a strategy for winning."